(FOND DU LAC) A Ripon man charged with trying to kill a woman with a hatchet in Fond du Lac this summer is pleading insanity. 34-year-old Hayden Daffinson entered pleas of not guilty by reason of mental illness to all eight counts against him in court on Friday.
The criminal complaint says the two had been dating, but the alleged victim broke it off. Prosecutors say he attacked her when she let him into her home to get his personal belongings on June 22.
According to the criminal complaint, he hit her 30 times with the hatchet. Both her arms were broken, and she had several skull fractures. She told investigators she believed he allowed her to live because she promised to tell police she fell down the stairs.
Daffinson is being held in the Fond du Lac County Jail on a $5 million cash bond. His next court date will be scheduled after a mental examination report is completed.
